The Adventures of Jungle Goddess and Sun Fox
by Kuroyuri-chan
Summary: Shippo is asked for a bedtime story. He obliges... Set in my StJttT universe. Kur/Kag


AN: This one wouldn't leave me alone till I wrote it down. It takes place in my StJttT universe, but you don't have to have read those to enjoy this one. Thanks in advance for reviews and feedback. Enjoy!

* * *

 **The Adventures of Jungle Goddess and Sun Fox**

 **Chapter One**

...

"Oniisan, will you tell us a bedtime story?"

Shippo stood up from tucking in the two squirming little boys to look over his shoulder at the little girl who had asked the question. Mayumi was a few years older than her twin brothers Yuichi and Yuji and often spoke for the three of them.

"Story! Story!" the twins repeated, wriggling out from under the blanket their oldest sibling had just tucked around them.

"Alright, I guess you brats were pretty good for me today so I'll tell you a story," the oldest kitsune gave in, grinning when the little girl slid out of her bed to jump in beside the twins. Shippo took a seat in the rocking chair where their mother had once nursed the three little ones and asked, "What do you want to hear?"

The three youngest shared a look and then the girl said, "Tell us one about Jungle Goddess."

"Ok, let's see," Shippo said, leaning back and stroking his chin thoughtfully. "Well, Jungle Goddess lived in an enchanted forest with all of her children. She was beloved by everyone in the forest and was known for her beauty and bravery. Jungle Goddess' only weakness was her heart. She had so much kindness and her heart was so big that she had to carry it on a necklace. Now, a heart is a very valuable thing and many greedy people had tried to steal it from Jungle Goddess' but with the help of her children she kept it safe. That is, until one day when she met Sun Fox…

...

Kagome lifted another fan of broad leaves enough to duck under it, her bare feet carrying her silently through the undergrowth of her jungle home. Two deer had found her earlier in the morning to tell her there was a stranger in the forest who was severely injured. They had heard it from the trees, who seemed very fond of the stranger according to the deer. She was cautious of strangers as always because they were more often than not covetous of her heart. Nevertheless, she had never been able to refuse a creature in need so she had brought along her first aid kit as well as her bow and arrows.

The forest had grown silent the closer she came to the place they said he laid and when she finally spotted him her breath was taken away. He was the most beautiful creature she had ever seen and her heart which hung around her neck pulsed warmly just once. He laid propped up against an ancient tree's roots in a shaft of sunlight broken through the thick canopy and his spun mercury hair, pearl white clothes, and pale pale skin seemed to glow. When she saw the red of the blood soaked into his shirt she gasped and ran to him.

She knelt down beside him and laid down her weapons so she could assess his injuries. She winced as she peeled the partially dried bloody cloth away from his torso to find a hole under his ribs as big around as a broomstick and festering at the edges, even though she could tell it was less than a day old. Her eyes filled with unshed tears as she looked down at his pale, unconscious features. "You poor thing. Someone has poisoned you," she said softly. Worried for his unconscious state, she pulled a vial of smelling salts out of her kit and held it under his nose. His nose twitched and his eyes shot open. Red irises focused on her and he growled a low warning in his throat, his silver fox ears flattening.

"Forgive me, I just want to help you!" she rushed to explain, holding her hands up to show she had no weapons. She gestured to the first aid kit to further communicate her intentions.

The stranger growled again and looked suspiciously from her to the kit and back again. "Why?" he asked, his voice gravelly from disuse and thirst.

Kagome unslung her canteen and unscrewed the top before handing it to him with a short instruction to "drink." He refused it and told her "No, you first." Kagome rolled her eyes but took a swig of the water. Satisfied that it was safe to drink, the stranger took it and drank greedily, never taking his still red-rimmed eyes off of her.

"Because you're really hurt," Kagome answered while he drank, as though it were obvious.

"It's not as bad as it looks," he said, dropping the empty canteen and wincing as he leaned back against the tree.

"It's going to get a lot worse if I don't get something on it to combat that poison," Kagome warned him, pulling alcohol and bandages out of her kit. She reached out to pull back his shirt again but stopped when he growled.

She glared at him. "Listen, buddy, you have a hole through your stomach that's getting bigger by the second and if you don't let me help you you're going to die. Do you understand me?"

He glared right back at her, but the red was beginning to fade from his eyes to be replaced with calculating, lucid gold. Kagome thought it looked like the color of sunlight. Her heart pulsed again.

The fox's gaze never strayed, but he had felt the pulse of her heart and he carefully schooled his features into disdain. "You may proceed."

Kagome rolled her eyes at his tone. "Lucky for you I have plenty of experience treating ungrateful patients," she muttered under her breath, beginning to clean and dress the wound. She clucked her tongue in disapproval. "This is worse than I thought. Who did this to you?"

The silver fox grimaced as she prodded the edges of the wound. "It doesn't matter. He won't be doing it again," he said darkly.

"Well, whoever it was you must have really pissed him off. This tissue is necrotic. Whatever toxin he used will make you wish for death long before it comes. The good news is it seems to be localized," she told him cheerfully.

"Hm, I feel so fortunate," he answered sarcastically.

Kagome rolled her eyes again. "Wait here. I have something that'll stop the necrosis so your body can start healing itself." She snapped her first aid kit shut and stood, taking her bow and arrows with her back into surrounding forest. The fox watched her leave with slivered eyes. He shifted gingerly, his muscles stiff from lying in wait for so long. The poison hurt about as much as he had thought it would, but the pain would be worth it in the end.

...

Mayumi interrupted with a gasp. "Sun Fox is tricking Jungle Goddess!"

The twins slapped their hands over their mouths in comical shock, their blue eyes round. "No, no, no!" they chanted.

"Ah, but Jungle Goddess had friends who were looking out for her," Shippo assured them. "On the way back to her home to get medicine for Sun Fox, Red Fox came to warn her. You see, Red Fox was the Goddess' closest and most trusted friend, and it was easy to see why because he was the smartest and best looking out of all her children."

Mayumi glared at her older brother. The twins seemed to be missing something as they each had a finger buried in the other's nose.

Shippo cleared his throat. "Anyway…"

...

"Mother!"

Kagome looked back over her shoulder to see a large tawny red fox with blue-green eyes running to catch up with her on her determined path through the forest. "Sorry, Shippo-chan, I'm in kind of a hurry, can't stop to talk."

Not to be discouraged, the fox trotted next to her. "There's a stranger in the forest, Mother, and you must stay away from him! He's dangerous!"

"Dangerous? How do you know?" she asked, her interest piqued.

The fox touched his nose to her palm, gave it a testing lick. "You've already met him, haven't you! Please, Mother, listen to me when I say that this stranger is not a friend!"

"He's very hurt, Shippo-chan. I appreciate the warning, but he'll die if I don't help him."

"Then let him die!" the fox insisted.

"Shippo-chan!" Kagome gasped, finally stopping to face him. "How many of my children have come to me hurt or cold or hungry? And how many of your brothers and sisters would be dead now if I had refused to help them?" she asked, hands on her hips and temper flaring.

The fox pinned his ears back and tried to look chastised. "But Mother, he is different. You don't understand who he is."

"Who is he?" Kagome asked, calming down when she realized Shippo had only spoken out of worry for her.

The fox lowered his voice to a whisper, green eyes darting suspiciously. "He's the Sun Fox," he revealed.

Kagome blinked owlishly. "Who?"

"The Sun Fox! Haven't you ever heard of the fox whose eyes are made from sunlight?" he asked incredulously. When the young woman shook her head, he went on to explain. "Sun Fox is a bandit! He is arguably the best thief there ever was!"

"A thief?" Kagome worriedly clutched the round little glowing jewel, her heart, that hung on a necklace.

"Yes! When he was born his mother wanted to give him the gift of sight in the darkness so that he could always find his way home to her. She stole sunbeams from her neighbor's garden for his eyes, but although her intentions were good he was doomed to thievery by his mother's covetous act for the rest of his life," the red fox dramatically recanted the tale of how the Sun Fox came to be.

Kagome thought about that for a moment and then shook her head. "I still have to help him, Shippo-chan. He's in pain." She knelt down to be eye-level with him and put her arms around his neck, burying her face in the fur at his shoulders. "I promise I'll be cautious."

With that, she continued on her mission to retrieve the medicine, leaving a dissatisfied and worried kitsune in her wake.

...

Shippo stopped there just as Mayumi's golden eyes drifted close. The twins had conked out a few minutes ago and were snuggled up as close as they could get, Yuichi suckling on his brother's gray vulpine ear in his sleep. Chuckling, the oldest kitsune lifted his sister gently out of bed and tucked her back into her own. One gold eye peeked up at him blearily through unruly, dark bangs. Her voice thick with sleep, she asked, "What happened next?"

Shippo shook his head and tucked the blankets up around her chin. "It's getting late. I'll tell you tomorrow," he promised her.

"Nuh-uh," she protested.

"Yes-huh, you brat. Go back to sleep."

But she already had.


End file.
